What is the most overlooked tax deduction?
The mileage deduction. It’s not complicated or obscure. Business owners just don’t track it.
At the current standard mileage rate of 67 cents per mile, driving 10,000 business miles means $6,700 in deductions. That translates to real tax savings, often $1,500 to $2,000 or more depending on your bracket. But claiming it requires a contemporaneous log of business trips. Without documentation, the deduction disappears.
Most business owners start the year with good intentions. They’ll track mileage this time. By February, the habit has fallen apart. At tax time, they estimate based on memory and hope for the best, or they skip the deduction entirely rather than guess.
The fix is simple. Use a mileage tracking app like Everlance or MileIQ. The app runs in the background and logs trips automatically. You just tag them as business or personal. Ten seconds per trip beats losing thousands in deductions.
Home office is another commonly missed deduction. Many business owners believe claiming it triggers audits. That was more true decades ago. Today, with so many legitimate home-based businesses, a properly documented home office deduction is routine. If you use a dedicated space exclusively for business, you can deduct a portion of your rent or mortgage interest, utilities, and insurance. The simplified method allows $5 per square foot up to 300 square feet, which means up to $1,500 without complicated calculations.
Small recurring expenses also slip through. Bank fees, software subscriptions, professional memberships, business books, office supplies ordered online. Individually they seem minor. Over a year, they add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars. The problem is they’re scattered across statements and easy to forget when tax time arrives.
The pattern in all these cases is the same. The deductions are legitimate and available. They get missed because tracking happens inconsistently or not at all. Working with a Mid-Missouri bookkeeper who maintains your books means these expenses get captured when they happen, not reconstructed months later from memory.
Monthly bookkeeping turns tax time from a scramble into a routine. If expenses are categorized correctly throughout the year, nothing gets overlooked. If you’re guessing in March about what you spent in May, some deductions will slip through every time.
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More Questions
What do I need to process payroll?
You need federal and state employer registrations, completed employee tax forms, a pay schedule, and either payroll software or a service to handle the calculations and tax deposits.
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Register through the MyTax Missouri portal on the Department of Revenue website. You'll need your EIN, business details, and information about your sales activities to complete the application.
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The threshold is $600 per vendor, per year for services. Pay someone less than that and no 1099 is required. Reach $600 or more and you must send a 1099-NEC by January 31.
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Net 30 is standard for most businesses, but what's reasonable depends on the terms you set. Following up within a week of the due date and escalating from there helps catch slow payers before they become bad debt.
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No. Square calculates and collects sales tax from customers, but it does not file returns or remit payment to the state. That responsibility stays with you.
Read answerCan I write off daycare as a business expense?
No. Daycare is a personal expense even if it enables you to work. However, the Child and Dependent Care Credit provides tax relief for qualifying childcare costs on your personal return.
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